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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. rash — a series
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ground — a position
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spell — letters
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. spell — a short time
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. vault — a safe
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com